Imitation tile trim



Jan. `9, 1940. yG. RITTER IMITATION TILE TRIM` Filed June 22', V1939 v INVENTQ R feo/ye D//fe/f ATTORNEY 60 Figure 1 is a view in elevation of Patented Janr, 1940 IMI'rA'noN George Ritter, Millington, N. vJ., assignor to` The Ruberoid Co.,`New York, N.Y., a. corporationk oi New Jersey Application .rune zavgflss, 'seal Nt.Y 280,455

claiins. (ci. 'lz-1s) i trim: unit orA cap; moldingfor trimming the top This 'invention' relates to imitation tile trim, andmoreparticularly to trim or moldings for use with imitation tile walls or Wallboard.

Imitation tile board is extensively used in low I cost housing construction for covering or wainscoating the walls of bathrooms, kitchens, pantries, and other rooms, because of -its low cost and ease of application.y Frequently the imitation tile is used Without trim but the result is not satisi 1' factory as the' iling has an uninished appearance. In the [ase of real tile walls, the topand bottom ars ge' erally iinishedwith ceramic cap and base piejfes. Various attempts have been made, but'with indifferent success,'tofprovide imitation caps and bases for vuse with imitation tile orwall board. Ther caps land bases now used areA but poor imitations of the real ceramic trim and lack the sanitary cove, generally provided inceramic bases, at the juncture between the iloor vand base.

Manufacturers of imitation tiling or wallboard K' have been confronted-with the problem of supplying an inexpensive trim for use 'with the The trim now used is generally made of strips or moldings of asbestos,board, wood, or fibre board, rabbeted an'cl 'scc/red, and coated on the face ywith lacquen Such trim is relatively expensive to manufacture and is unsatisfactory in appearance; furthermore, the lacquer coating, particularly on the base, is very likely to chip or Wear off in use. The cost of the trim to the consumer is'out of allproportion to the whole cost of installation of the imitation tiling and in-4 many instances has barred the useof suchtiling.

`With these defects in mind, the objects of lthis invention are to provide a trim of] molded plastic material that is simple and inexpensive to manu- 0 facture, that may/be easily applied to the wall construction, and that closely simulates the ap-y pearance of realftile trim.

Anotherv object isto providev a molded trim having' a smooth, polished finish producedrwith-v 45 out the use of lacquers.

. Other objects and advantages of the invention will. appear from the following description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Fig. 2 is a verticalsection thereof on an enlarged scale taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Il. Fig. 3 is afront elevation, partly broken. of a e product but have heretofore been unable to solve y ,w

25 in a satisfactory mannen f /f l wall covering"l0.

ofthe wallcovering; l y e Fig. 4 is asimilar view offa base molding, for f trimming the bottom of the. wan covering;

' Fig.' 5 is an end View, viewed from the right hand end, yof the unit shown inf'Fig. '4 Fig. 6 is an enlarged ycross-sectional view through one of thenailbosses,,takenfon th l line e-s cfm. aand] Fig. 'l is` a 'sectional view 'of a modification of Referring to ,the awing, I0,' indi :atesj` generally anv ornamentaliwall covering of imitationtil or wallboard. The tiling is formed of' a plurality of rectangular slabsorV sheets lvl ofasbestoscement, compositionboa'rd, orthe likejwhich sheets are nailed or secured in butt-'joint relation to lthe plastercovering the wail st u'jds l2 o; uivrectly to the studs. The 'face of each sheethas lvertical and horizontal grooves 'orfs'cores I3 formed therein 'andsisi provided wtih'a coating layer i4 of, lacquer or [other suitable coating compositionfthat` willfg'ive an eiect imitating; jreal ceramic tiling. In" someinstances'the v'vall-cvering .may beformedoi unsco'red'slabs or sheets of wallboard. Th'esla'bs generally"measureabout 4 x 4' and'about or`%" thick;" The construction lofA such imitation tiling or wallboard is old Ain the'art and is described herein merely `to define thefleld of application of the present invention. f l This invention'relates particularlyto the trim vforthetop and bottom of suchvv imitation tilel wall togive the tiling a finished aplarance,

. In Fig. 3 is showna trim 'unit or cap .molding for thetop of the covering. This unit consists ofa relatively thin strip i5 molded kofausuitable Atherrnosetting or a thermoplastic material, ls uch `ior example as plastic resins, with lor without `llers'. The plasticmaterial ilsof sulclfcharacter that when theproduct is molded the faceof the strip will have a smooth, polished, glossy appearance simulating tile'. The" plastic molding vcom-- vposition may include any suitable coloring matter. i i

` The upper edge ISjof thestrip's molded in convexly curved form'and of a lenghto abut the Wall, when applied, as yseen in Fig.' 2. The lower medge il is also molded convexly curvedbut of 'shorter length ,than the up'per edge to permit of reception thereunder of theupper edge of the 'seating'lugs is are moldeL on the back of the strip along a longitudinal line parallel to the lower edge and extend rearwardly about furcenter to center.

edge of the wall covering and serve to support the strips I thereon. While 'the lugs I8 are shownas discontinuous, it will be understood that they may be `formed continuous. The kstrips `are generally formed about 32" long whiler the individual lugs are about 1" long and are spaced about 4" from At one end of the strip there is molded `/nail boss I9 and. at the other end a similarboss l0. The two bosses are spaced vertically with respect to each other and each has a portion that Aprotrudes beyond the relative end of the strip.

Oniinspection of Fig.y 3 it will be seenA that the boss I9 isl disposed adjacentA to the 'upper edge andA has a portion 2| that protrudes beyond the end of the strip, while the boss 20 at the oppositefend is disposed adjacent to the lower edge of the strip` and-also has a portion 22 protruding beyond said end. The purpose of this arrangement is that when two strips are assembled with their ends butting, asindicated by the dot-anddash lines at the right of Fig. 3, there will be two nail bosses under the joint with a part of each boss underlying the adjacent strip thus effectually aligning the strips and supporting them at the joint.

. Other nail bosses 23, similar to the bosses I9 and 20, are formed at intervals throughout the length ofl the strip, preferablyalong the longitudinal center line. Bosses I9, 2D and 2.3are each molded with a preformed nail hole 24 and a lcountersunk or recessed `rear end 25. The bosses 23 are generally spaced 8" from center to center, and all of the bosses extend rearwardly about 11;" further than the lugs I8.V The bosses I9, 20 and 23 s erve not only to receive the securing nails but also 'to space the strip properly from I vthe wall.

At;.each en'd of the strip are formed two approximately semi-circular notches 26, through which, when the strips are butted, nails 2'I are driven. The face of the strip' is preferably formed with vertical grooves 28 positioned above the centers of thebosses 23 and with a groove 29, of

half the width of the groove 28, at each end `abovethe lugs I9 and 20, respectively. The portion of the groove 28 directly above the nail hole 24is indented at 3l! to receive the head of the nail.

, in the event that a nailis not driven through any particular hole. The web, however, lis so thin, that it may be easily broken by a nail driven therethrough.

In Fig. 4 is shown a trim unit or base molding for trimming the bottom of the wall covering. This unit, indicated by the reference character l Isa, is made of the same material and in the same manner Aas the cap unit I5 previously described. 'I'hevbase molding is wider than the cap molding and is formed with a convexly curved upperedge I6a, similar to the edge I6, but is molded with a concavely curved lower edger 32 that provides a sanitary cove at the juncture of the floor and molding.

A longitudinal lug Ia, similar to the lugs I8, but which in this instance is preferably continuous, is molded at the back ofthe strip adjacent and parallel tothe upper edge. The lug I8a abuts the lower edge of the wall covering I0, as seen in Fig. 2. Additional longitudinal and transverse ribs 33 and 3.4.may be provided for reenforcing the `strip.

` ther `than saidedge. These' lugs rest on the `upper Because of its greater width, the base molding is provided with two bosses Isa, I-9b and 20a,` 20h at each `end which bosses have protruding portions 2Ia, 2 Ib and 22a, 22h that intert with corresponding portions of the endibosses of the adjoining strip when laid as indicated by the dotand-dash lines at the right of Fig. 4.

Additional nail bosses are formed on the back `of the strip I5a )similar to the bosses 23. However, in this instance the strip is preferably provided with two rows` of such additional bosses 23a and 23h instead of one. The `bosses on the cap and the base molding are all of substantially the same construction and size, and accordingly it is unnecessary to repeat the details of their construction. The base molding may be molded with face grooves 28a of full width and grooves 29a of ,half width at each end.

As previously noted, wallboards or slabs II are generally made either or 1A" thick. The strips are preferably originally molded for use with slabs of 1% thickness. However, they may be used with slabs `of M3 thickness as shown in Fig. 'lby grinding or cutting oil` about g of the material of the rear ends of the bosses. Since these ends are countersunk` and have relatively thin wallsrthis may be easily done. Of course, the bosses may be initially molded of different lengths for use with slabs of different thicknesses by'merely changing the length of the pins controllingthe length of the bosses in the mold.

In the foregoing specificationy I have described certain dimensions. It is to be understood, however, that these dimensions are merely for the purpose of illustration .and are subject to proportionate variation. It is also understood that` nusoliaiitcaitions1 ciin the details of construction ilr e an escribed ma be scope ofthe invention. y made Wlthm the llNhat vI claim is:

. An imitation tile trim for -a wall formed of wall board or imitation tiliitgugztnlrlrli prising a strip of molded plastic material having a front face simulating tile, a rear face an edge for contacting the face of the wall, a lug on the rear face parallel to and projecting rearwardly beyond said edge for contacting an edge of the wall, and nail bosses spaced along the rear face of the -trim and projecting rearwardly a distance not less than the thickness of the wall, said lug functioning to position the trim along the edge of the wall, said nail bosses functioning to space the trim from the wall backing and to take the nailing load.

2. An imitation tile trim for a wall structure formed of wall board or imitation tiling, the trim comprising strips of molded plastic material, each strip having a front face simulating tile, a rear face, an edge for contacting the face of the wall, a lug on the rear face parallel to and projecting rearwardly beyondsaid edge for contacting an edge of the wall, nail bossesspaced along the rear face of the trim and projecting rearwardly a distance not less than the thickness of the wall, said lug functioning to position the trim along an edge of the wall, said nail bosses functioning to space the trim from the wall backing andVA to take the nailing load, the nail bosses being arranged in a line throughout the length of the strip except at the ends thereof, a boss at each end of the stripgpartly protruding beyond the end. said end"t ses being arranged out of line with the intermediate bosses and with their protruding portions adapted to fit under the rear i'ace of an adjoining strip to aline and intert the strips.

3. An imitation tile trim for a wall structure formed of wallboard or imitation tiling, the trim comprising strips of molded plastic material,

each strip having a front face simulating tile,

throughout the length of the strip except at the* ends thereof, a boss at each end of the strip partly protruding beyond the end, the boss at one end of the strip being arranged on one side of the line of the intermediate bosses and the boss at the other end of the strip being arranged on the other side of the line of the intermediate bosses, the protruding portions of the end bosses of each strip being adapted to fit under the rear face of an adjoining strip to aline and interfit the strips.

4. In a wall construction, a wall having exposed top and bottom edges, an imitation tile trim for both edges, the trim comprising strips of molded plastic material, each strip of the y top trim having a front face simulating tile, a rear face, a longitudinal edge contacting the face of the wall, a second longitudinal edge contacting the wall backing, lugs extending rearwardly from the rear face and resting on the top and bottom edges of the wall, respectively, nail bosses spaced along the rear face of the trim and projecting rearwardly a distance not less than the thickness of the wall, said nail bosses function to space the trim from the wall backing and to take the nailing load.

5. In a wall construction, a wall having exposed top and bottom edges, an imitation tile trim for both edges, the trim comprising strips of molded plastic material, each strip of the top trim having a front face simulating tile, a rear face, a bottom edge contacting the facey of the wall, a top edge contacting the wall backing, lugs near the bottom edge extending rearwardly beyond said'edge and resting on the top edge of the wall, nail bosses spaced along the rear face of the trim above the lugs and projecting rearwardly a distance not less than the thickness of the wall, said nail bosses functioning to space the trim from the wall backing and to take the nailing load.

6. In a wail construction, a wall having exposed top and bottom edges, an imitation tile trim for both edges, the trim comprising strips of molded plastic material,v each strip of the top trim having a front face simulating tile, a rear face, a bottom edge 'contacting the face of the wall, a top edge contacting the wall backing,

lugs near the bottom edge extending beyond said edgey and resting on the top edge of the wall,

nail bosses spaced along the rear face of the trim and projecting rearwardly a distance not less than the thiclmess of the wall, said nail bosses functioning to space the trim from the wall back ing and to take the nailing load, the nail bosses being arranged in a line throughout the length yof the strip except `at `the ends thereof, a boss at each end of the strip partly protruding beyond the end, the boss at one end of the strip being arranged on one side of the line of the intermediate bosses and the boss 'on the other end ofthe strip being arranged on the other side l of the line of the intermediate bosses ,the protruding portions of the end bosses of each strip fitting under the rear face of an adjoining strip to aline and cause interiitting of the adjoining strips.

7. In a wall construction, a wall having exposed top and bottom edges, animitation 'tile trim for both edges, the trim comprisingstrips of molded `plastic material, each strip ofthe securing it to and spacing it from the wall backing. a,

8. In a wall construction, a wall having exposed top and bottom edges, an imitation tile trim for both edges, the trim comprising strips of molded plastic material, each strip of .the bottom trim having a front face simulating tile, .a

rear face, a. top edge contacting the face of the wall, a concave bottom edge contacting the floor at the bottom of the wall, a lug near the topA edge extending rearwardly beyond the top edge and iitting under the bottom edge of the wall, and nail bosses on the rear face of the strip and projecting rearwardly a distance not less than the thickness of the wall, said nail bosses functioning to space the trim from the wall backing and to take the nailing load.

GEORGE RITTER. 

